The Boars and the Bulls
by starshock1995
Summary: Starshield, while hunting for knowledge in Pandaria, is haunted by a past foe, who longs for revenge, but also something else...
1. Chapter 1

Pandaria, a beautiful land that held many secrets, was all but a mystery to those working in the City of Miracles. The researchers and workers had refused the call to war, instead claiming the new lives they had made for themselves. Their leader, however, dove into this new land, searching for something.

Starshield, as he was once known, had heard from his old friends about Garrosh leading the horde down a dark and dangerous path. Compared to his incident in the Highlands, the actions he was taking as of late, including nearly assassinating Vol'Jin and stealing an ancient and powerful relic, were downright self-destructive. He realized early on that something about this new land was changing Garrosh, so he took the name Starshock and went to Pandaria to find out what could be causing this. His journey led him to meet some interesting new creatures, including the monkey-like Hozen, the fish-like Jinyu, and Pandaren that had refused to side with the Horde or Alliance. None of his journeys really surprized him, because his old friends had already explored the new continent, but his hunt for knowledge was about to take a turn for the unexpected.

As he scoured the Vale of Eternal Blossoms looking for raw materials, he heard a strange voice.

_"I haven't forgotten, horned beast."_

He looked around, but didn't see anyone around. The voice came again, louder.

_"Nervous yet?"_

_What is doing that?_

His thoughts became more panicked as the voice began to repeat, more insulting and unsettling each time.

_Is it a curse? Am I going crazy? Is a rogue psychologically torturing me?_

As his thoughts kept racing, the voice stopped only to start yelling again.

_"Shut up you stupid beast! Your thoughts are making my head hurt!"_

Starshock then realized that the voice he heard was real, and began thinking.

_How did this voice get in my head?_

_"That is for me to know and you to wonder, tauren!"_

This gave him an idea of who was doing this.

_So, I assume this is the work of one of my old victims. Is that correct?_

_"Yes, but there is nothing you can do about that! As long as that relic remains."_

_Relic, but I have no..._

Starshock then pulled out his shotgun, and opened the ammo slot, seeing something that deeply troubled him: a dark-violet crystal lodged inside the gun.

_So this is where the power of the gun comes from._

_"And it is where your downfall begins, and how I will wipe your species off the planet!"_

_Not likely, Quilboar fiend! I don't know how you got into that crystal, but I know how to get you out!_

Then, mustering his energy, he teleported himself back to the City of Miracles, seeking out an old friend of his.

* * *

The City of Miracles, headed by masters of every field, was growing into a great research facility. The art of magic, native to the one truly responsible for creating the city, was one of their greatest strengths. Mages of all kinds practiced and developed new ways to use magic, including ways to commune with the long deceased. Lerrac, a priest who once helped Star escape the clutches of a succubus, became renowned for his ability to speak with spirits, even those at rest. Starshock knew to seek him out first, entering his small wooden shack, and looking around for him.

"Ah, Starshield." the human figure greeted, emerging from the obscured curtains in the back. "What brings you to my humble home? You wish to commune with a lost spirit?"

"First, I go by Starshock now." he responded bluntly. "Second, yes I do. But don't search for too long; I have the one you must seek out right here."

He held up the crystal to Lerrac, prompting him to stumble back and transform into his worgen form.

"Where did you find that?!" he yelled to Starshock.

"Inside my gun, and I'm not sure how he got there."

"You better find out then, and fast! That crystal contains great magical energies, and with an angry spirit in there as well, you better hope he does not learn to use that magic."

He urged Star out of the shack, showing he had no wish to speak with the one in the crystal.

_"Ha ha ha! I told you no one can help you!"_

The crystal then released a burst of energy, knocking Starshock out of the building and on the ground.

_"And once I unlock the full potential of this crystal, you will wish I had killed you when you first came for me!"_

He ran to find Mokcie, who he believed would be able to find where this crystal had come from.

"Clothie, I need your help. Can you trace the origins of this crystal? There is something troubling about it."

"Nick-naming his own guardian, the nerve of these kids.."

Mokcie took the crystal, her hands aglow, shut her eyes for a moment, and after a few seconds, declared the place he was looking for.

"The Nexus. You must seek out The Nexus. There is something of great significance within. It is there you will find the truth about the crystal, and the one hiding inside..."


	2. Chapter 2

Starshock still had a few questions after his recent search of knowledge, but before he could ask them, the spirit in the crystal whispered,

_"You are still helpless to save yourself from my wrath. I can tell already, you know where to go, but you have no way to get there. Hehe, and even if you did..."_

_I'll be plenty prepared for anything you have in store._

He rushed off to the city tower to find Malygos, because though Star himself could not get into The Nexus, the former aspect of magic always had a way around those small problems.

"Malygos, I need your help."

The blue-haired elven figure looked up from his desk and asked,

"It's the spirit in that crystal, isn't it?"

Starshock simply nodded, and Malygos opened a portal to the nexus. He immediately lept through it, entering the ruins of his first attempt at cross-factional cooperation. The crystal was surprizingly silent for a while, as Star just kept wandering the ruins, looking for anything suspicious. He eventually came across a strange looking tome somewhere in the mage district, and opened it up. Though shrouded by what appeared to be gunpowder, it was still legible, and its contents proved to be rather useful after all.

_"Strange Crystal, Day 1"_

_On the search for a power source suitable for the gun commissioned by Starshield, I have stumbled across such an item right here in the city. It appears to be crystallized essense of the nexus, and if my estimations are correct, more than strong enough to power this weapon for 1,000 of his lifetimes. Such a crystal rarely forms anywhere in the nexus, but a chance like this, as invaluable as time itself, is too good to pass up._

_"Strange Crystal, Day 2"_

_I had intended to spend the rest of my day enchanting this weapon, but it seems that the crystal I found yesterday had ended up captivating my attention instead. The item seems to be calling to me, telling me that it was meant to be found by someone, and given to "that tauren with the goggles". I might just be working too hard on this, so I will take the next day off, since the rest of my enchantments have already been applied to the gun._

_"Strange Crystal, Last Day"_

_Even after my rest, I still hear the crystal speaking to me. I am convinced that there is something deeply wrong with this gem, but my colleagues don't believe me. This is the last day I need to handle this weapon and that crystal, so I will no longer let it trouble me, as Starshield will be more than capable of handling this situation._

_"A Disturbing Find"_

_One of my co-worker has brought me a deceased creature for a troubling reason. He claims that this creature is missing its soul, but can't commune with it in the after-life. With Frostmourne long destroyed, there is nothing else that can trap souls like it, but I'm afraid that something about the nexus may be responsible._

_"A Disturbing Find, One Day Later"_

_Starshield tells me that he fought and killed this quilboar after a poorly attempted assassination, though he did nothing else to him. Someting about what he told me of Malygos's spirit only furthers my concerns about the nexus, but I will need to look into this tomorrow._

"But he never did, because the next day was the invasion that leveled this city."

At the bottom of the page, he did find something that would prove to be useful.

_"Until further information is revealed, the body of the quilboar shall be held in the vault of Bio-magical anomalies."_

Without a second though, he ran to the vault's location, relieved to see that it was still intact. He was unnerved at the prospect of what the vault of Bio-magical anomalies would hold, but before he even saw anything inside of it, the crystal began glowing and shaking violently, and released a huge burst of energy. Though it didn't hurt Starshock, he immediately noticed two things. The crystal no longer held an eerie purple glow, instead shining bright blue, just like the eye of eternity itself. But he also heard the sound of shattering glass from the vault, and as he turned to go inside, he was knocked backwards by a burst of electrical energy. When he saw the figure of his assailant, he grew worried quickly.

"Now tauren *snort*, you die!"

The once harmless quilboar he had killed so long ago had become far more powerful than he was prepared for. His lightning bolts contained more destructive power than any he had ever seen before, destroying parts of the ground as he dodged them. Even when he started swinging his mace at the vengeful creature, he raised the ground to defend against every strike, using one of these attacks to knock his hammer and shield away. The quilboar raised his hands to Starshock, and as they glew with fire, the creature then threateningly asked,

"Any lasts words *snort*, tauren scum?"

Starshock raised his head ans responded, "Yes, quilboar, what do your people have against mine?"

The quilboar yelled back, "You are holding land we need to survive *snort*! Our people need to grow *snort*, and the land your species live on is meant to house generations of new quilboar *snort."

"And you think fighting us is the best way to gain that land?"

"I... never wanted that *snort*." The Quilboar put his hands down and looked to the ground, saddened by his ensuing thoughts.

"Had I become leader *snort*, the razorfen would be living happily as we speak *snort*. I had a chance to become the new shaman *snort*, but that wench, Charlga Razorflank *snort*, took that from me. Then I fell ill, by her doing *snort*, and went off to die in the wilderness, but I survived, and I knew what I was meant to do *snort*. Under the leadership of that harpie *snort*, I knew the tauren and quilboar would never know peace, so I accepted that fact, and began practicing shamanism on my own *snort*. If I grew strong enough, I could bring a new home to my tribe the only way they thought was possible, taking it as their own *snort*."

"Well, now you are strong enough, but..." he hesitated to ask, "Do you still think it's the only way to help your tribe?"

"Not anymore. That harpie is dead *snort*, and now I can return to my tribe, and guide them through this crisis, like a shaman is meant to do *snort*."

"And you aren't alone. You have the potential to be great, and the city of miracles can help you become great, if you would accept us."

The quilboar closed his eyes and responded, "Thank you tauren *snort*. And please, my name... is Darlum Wisetusk."

* * *

And mere weeks after their strange encounter, Starshock and Darlum had gone their seperate ways. Starshock continued to investigate Pandaria in the search for knowledge, while Darlum studied shamanism to hone his abilities. Though Starshock and Darlum knew that the quilboar and tauren might never get along, they saw their friendship in a positive light, and knew that they could still change _themselves_ for the better, even if most others would not.


End file.
